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Prayer For A Nation That Calls Evil Good
PRAYER FOR A NATION THAT CALLS EVIL GOOD
The following prayer was prayed by Senator Joe Wright in the Kansas State Senate. It seeks God’s help for a society many of whose people have lost their way in spiritual darkness.
Heavenly Father, we come before you today to ask your forgiveness and seek Your direction and guidance. We know your Word says, ‘Woe on those who call evil good,’ but that’s exactly what we have done. We have lost our spiritual equilibrium and inverted our values.
We confess that:
We ridiculed the absolute truth of your Word and called it pluralism.
We have worshipped other gods and called it multiculturalism.
We have endorsed perversion and called it an alternative lifestyle.
We have exploited the poor and called it the lottery.
We have neglected the needy and called it self-preservation.
We have rewarded laziness and called it welfare.
We have killed our unborn and called it choice.
We have shot abortionists and called it justifiable.
We have neglected to discipline our children and called it building self-esteem.
We have abused power and called it political savvy.
We have coveted our neighbor’s possessions and called it ambition.
We have polluted the air with profanity and pornography and called it freedom
of expression.
We have ridiculed the time-honored values of our forefathers and called it
enlightenment.
Search us, O God, and know our hearts today; cleanse us from every sin and set us free. Guide and bless these men and women who have been sent here by the people of Kansas, and who have been ordained by you to govern this great state. Grant them the wisdom to rule, and may their decisions direct us to the center of your will. I ask it in the name of your Son, the Living Savior, Jesus Christ, Amen.
DOING THINGS WE LIKE
George Slover
“Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” (Hebrews 12:11)
Bob Toledo, the head football coach at UCLA, once told his players: “I make you do things you don’t want to do so that you can become the players you want to be.” That thought is so true in many phases of life. The Olympic star, the successful businessman, the PHD, and the accomplished author all have one thing in common, namely hours of painful discipline. They willingly submit to such so they can be the person they want to be.
God wants us live lives that honor Him in speech, action, and attitude. We must make it our desire to be the kind of person He wants us to be. In order to arrive at the goal, we must change some of those bad habits. Change is difficult and requires hours of training and discipline. God doesn’t zap us with a magic potion that turns frogs into princes. Instead, he provides the tools necessary to achieve the task.
First, God provides a support group of Christians to allow for accountability. “Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” (James 5:16) Confessions don’t come easy because of embarrassment, pride, and fear of how others will react, but it may be the only road to reaching the goal.
Second, he asks us to exercise daily self-discipline and radical surgery to rid ourselves of those bad habits. “If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed, rather than having two hands, to go to hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched-- “where ‘their worm does not die, And the fire is not quenched.” (Mark 9:43-44) Such a challenge will tax the very heart and soul of an individual, but is necessary to have the victory.
Third, God allows us to be subject to trials and difficulties of this world. The loss of a family member, economic loss, or sudden loss of health can either make us or break us. There may be occasions when we don’t feel like persevering, but we must! God allows us to be tried so that He can sharpen our character and strengthen our faith!
Who do you really want to be? God has a wonderful plan for you. He loves you enough to provide all that is necessary to succeed. Accept the challenge and one day you will reap the rewards.
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